globalEDGE Company Directories and Trade Leads
Part of the globalEDGE mega site for international business by Michigan State University, these sections link to many global, regional and country-wide trade directories.

Kompass: The B to B Company Search Engine
A very large, worldwide database of over 2 million companies can be searched by company or trade name, product or service, or by various industry codes. Brief company descriptions, product lists, contact information, including email and web links where available, are provided for free.

Solusource (formerly Thomas Global Register)
A directory of 700,000 industrial manufacturers and distributors from around the world. Search by product/service or company name and limit by country. Provides contact information, number of employees, year established and types of products/services provided.

World Franchising.com
Worldfranchising.com is a directory of franchise opportunities worldwide, browsable by company name, industry, average investment required, location and type. Besides contact information, this database provides a description of the business, distribution and financial requirements, support and training, contract terms, and expansion plans. The site also provides news releases and guides to franchising.

For more directories see also Lexis/Nexis Academic Universe – Company Profiles and Financial Reports below.

International Business - Company Profiles & Financials

Includes full text articles from U.S., Canadian and international newspapers, magazines and journals; company financial data and directories, SEC filings, industry and market news & reports, and sources for accounting, government, medical and legal research.

Years indexed: varies by title

In Lexis Nexis, click on the "Companies" tab, then select “Company Profiles” for access to a large number of directories and databases with brief company profiles including financial information. Can be searched together or separately. Some of the key sources included: Worldscope International (accounting data is standardized across countries to facilitate comparison), Hoover’s Co. & Industry Reports, Standard & Poor’s, International Company Reports (for non-U.S. companies).

SEC Filings:
Securities & Exchange Commissions require all publicly traded companies to file reports on their financial condition, results of operations and other information that might be significant to investors. Note: Many international companies trade on U.S. stock exchanges, so data may be found on U.S., Canadian and other international companies, especially Fortune 500, Forbes 500, S&P 500, & Financial World 1,000 companies. SEC filings are available as a direct link on Lexis/Nexis under the "Companies" tab. (Includes filings from 1993 on.)

EDGARThis is the official database of the filings to the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission by all companies trading on a U.S. stock exchange. They are searchable by company name, ticker symbol, SIC and location. Includes 10K reports (annual financial information), prospectuses, annual and quarterly reports, etc. 10K reports from 1987 to the present. Others vary.

SEDARThe official database of the filings to Canadian securities commissions, from 1997 to the present. Includes company profiles, annual reports, financial statements and more.

Annual Reports:
Corporate annual reports provide a snapshot of a company, its financial state and future plans. Most publicly-traded companies will provide a link to their most recent annual report on their web site. Lexis/Nexis Academic provides historical reports for some companies. Note that 10K reports provide much of the information found in annual reports. Select “Companies” then “SEC Filings”. Select “Annual Reports” for reports from mostly U.S. companies from 1995 on, or select 10K reports and other sections found in annual reports. EDGAR and SEDAR (see above) can also be searched for reports from 1987 and 1997 to the present. Other collections: Several websites link to corporate annual reports online:

AnnualReports.com
Provides links to the latest U.S. public company annual reports and 10K reports available online in html or pdf format. Searchable by company name, industry, sector, stock exchange or ticker symbol.

CAROL: Company Annual Reports On-line
Links to the financial pages and annual reports of listed companies in Europe and the U.S. Free, but registration is required. Annual reports can be searched by company name, sector, region and stock exchange.

CorporateRegister.com.
An international collection of corporate non-financial reports (covering corporate social responsibility, sustainability, environmental and social issues). Includes current reports and an archive of reports from 1990 on. Free, but registration is required.

IRIN Annual Report Resource Center.
Investor Relations Information Network web site links to current and several years of historical annual reports from U.S. public companies. Searchable by keyword, company name and symbol, stock exchange and symbol.

Company and Industry Rankings. By globalEDGE, Michigan State University.
Links to many ranking sources at the country, industry and company level (e.g. Business Week Global 1000, Fortune Global 500, UNCTAD Largest Transnational Corporations, AD Age Leading Advertisers, etc.

International Business - Business Conditions (country and market reports, country overviews, etc.)

Click on the “Sources” tab, then enter "American Marketplace" in the Find a Source search box. Formerly the Official Guide to the American Marketplace, this database provides marketing analysis based on demographic and spending data from U.S. government statistics. Content is divided into 8 sections: Education, health, income, labour force, living arrangements, population, spending, and wealth. This resource may be easier to use than trying to get these data from government sources directly, but may not be as current.

Years indexed: varies by title

Country Commercial Guides by the U.S. Commercial Service.
Search the Market Research Library by limiting the report type to CCG. (Other reports not available to Canadians.) The CCGs provide industry overviews, market conditions, labour trends, etc. for different industries worldwide. Searchable by industry, country, region, keyword.

Doing Business: Measuring Business Regulations. By The World Bank Group
Provides snapshots of the business environment in each of over 180 countries and selected cities, focusing on the regulatory costs of business and investment such as for starting a business, hiring and firing workers, enforcing contracts, getting credit, closing a business, etc.

globalEDGE Global Resource Directory. By Michigan State University.
This is a large international business gateway site, linking to key online resources for current information on the business climate worldwide. See "Multi-Country", "Statistical Data Sources", "Security Risk", etc.

Market Reports. By Trade Commissioner Service, International Trade Canada.
International market reports on industry sectors in other countries and regions of the world are available here for Canadians only. Registration is required.

For more information on country economies, trade regulations, etc. see also:Marketing Hits - Other - Exporting
andEconomics Subject Guide: International Economics, Trade & Development section and International Economic Statistics section.